April 12, 2006 - The American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) announced that Joel Ostroff of Macon County, North Carolina is the recipient of the 2006 Ed Hurley Memorial Paper Recycling Award. The award recognizes an individual who has had a significant and positive influence in advocating paper recycling.

Mr. Ostroff received the award today at AF&PA's Paper Week convention during the Recycling General Session. Paper Week is held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City.

In 1990, with the assistance of a part-time instructor, Mr. Ostroff organized and established the Terraphile Society at Brevard Community College. The student-based environmental organization was so successful that by 1993 the College was recycling 10,000 pounds of newspapers and nearly 5,000 pounds of office paper each month. The Terraphile Society also became actively engaged in public education and outreach. As a result of its college-wide efforts, the Terraphile Society became the most successful collegiate environmental group in Florida, winning awards from the State of Florida Education Department, numerous environmental groups and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's WasteWise program.

After his retirement from Brevard Community College, Mr. Ostroff began his career as Macon County's Recycling Coordinator. In the five years he has served in this position the paper recycling rate has increased by approximately 35 percent. He has enrolled the five largest schools in the county in a paper recycling program, and plans to incorporate the remaining schools in 2006. Working with local volunteer agencies and the Job Corps, he annually holds an educational fair and a poster contest to emphasize the importance of paper recycling.

The AF&PA Recycling Awards were created to recognize outstanding individual, business, community and school paper recycling efforts. In 2005, a record-high 51.5 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling. AF&PA has set an ambitious goal of 55 percent recovery by 2012. It is only through the continued efforts of the millions of Americans who recycle at home, work and school that this goal will be achieved.

Through his work at Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, and his tireless service to AF&PA, Ed Hurley was actively involved in the paperboard, containerboard, and recycling industries for 35 years. Mr. Hurley was a staunch advocate for paper recycling, and the award in his name is given to an individual similarly committed to promoting paper recycling.